Phase II trial of PALA in combination with 5-fluorouracil in advanced pancreatic cancer

Summary Phosphonacetyl-l-aspartate (PALA), an inhibitor of aspartate transcarbamylase that depletes uridine nucleotide pools, selectively potentiates the antitumor activity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in preclinical models. Due to the promising results we obtained using PALA/5-FU in colorectal cancer, we performed a phase II trial in patients presenting with advanced pancreatic cancer. PALA was given intravenously at 250 mg/m² on day 1, followed 24 h later by 2,600 mg/m² 5-FU given by 24-h infusion. Treatments were repeated weekly. A total of 41 patients who had not previously undergone chemotherapy were entered in the trial; of these, 35 were evaluable for response. Toxicity was generally mild to moderate; neurotoxicity (13/35) and diarrhea (8/35) predominated. Among the 35 patients, 1 achieved a complete response and 4, a partial remission, for an overall response rate of 14%. The median survival was 5.1 months. Pretreatment with PALA alone was not sufficient to enhance the activity of 5-FU in pancreatic cancer.Supported in part by grant CA 06927 from the National Cancer Institute     

流行性出血热危险因素的病例对照研究

用病例对照研究方法探索建德县罹患流行性出血热(EHF)的危险因素。经临床诊断和血清学证实的97例EHF病例,按年龄、性别和住同一医院与其他疾病病人作1:1配对调查。条件logistic回归模型分析,发现村中曾有EHF史、外出他县、野宿和直接接触鼠类四个因素是罹患EHF的危险因素,其相对危险度分别为35.67、11.94、18.18和7.36。病例家属隐性感染率(4.95％)与对照家属隐性感染率(5.12％)相似;病例与对照家中捕获的鼠类及其EHF抗体、抗原阳性率无显著性差异。     

The Value of Lung Injury Score in Assessing the Outcome of Patients with Rib Fracture

Background and Purpose:   

Management of rib fractures constitutes a major part of the trauma workload of any unit. Rib fractures result in disrupted chest wall mechanics and ventilatory insufficiency. The ability of a lung injury scoring system to predict the degree of respiratory dysfunction after rib fractures was evaluated.     

Pituitary volume in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Abnormalities in the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (LHPA) axis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To our knowledge, however, no prior study has measured pituitary gland volume in OCD. METHODS: Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging studies were conducted in 31 psychotropic drug-na?ve children (10 boys, 21 girls) aged 8-17 years and 31 case-matched healthy comparison subjects. RESULTS: Pituitary volume was significantly smaller in patients with OCD as compared with healthy control subjects (11% smaller). Smaller pituitary volume in patients with OCD was associated with increased compulsive but not obsessive symptom severity. Boys with OCD had smaller pituitary gland volumes compared with control boys (20% smaller). No significant differences in pituitary volume were observed between girls with OCD and control girls. Boys with OCD had significantly smaller pituitary volumes than girls with OCD (31% smaller), whereas control boys also had smaller pituitary gland volumes compared with control girls (21% smaller). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide new evidence of reduced pituitary volume in pediatric OCD that seems to be more prominent in male patients. The observed alterations in pituitary volume are consistent with neuroendocrine studies that have reported abnormalities in the LHPA axis in OCD.     

An experimental study to evaluate the bactericidal activity of ofloxacin against an established Mycobacterium leprae infection.

The bactericidal effect of a new quinolone, ofloxacin (OFLO), was determined on an established Mycobacterium leprae infection in nude mice. Various drug regimens, including combinations of drugs, were examined for different treatment periods. OFLO and rifampin (RMP) individually failed to produce significant killing after treatment with a single large dose. However, when single large doses of OFLO and RMP were given in combination, a 100-fold reduction in viability was achieved. For a longer period of treatment both of these drugs, at lower doses, produced a moderate reduction in viability. The addition of dapsone to the lower dose of OFLO resulted in a significant reduction in viability, while lower doses of RMP and OFLO together produced a moderate reduction in viability.